DATC Newsletter

Pages: p. 207

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

DATC has come a long way since it was formed, and our predecessors (especially past chairs and executive committee members, as well as subcommittee members) have made many outstanding contributions. In 2007, we look forward to a very active year.

The New IEEE DATC

DATC remains a committee focused on technology for design automation techniques in all aspects of the design process of computer and electronic systems. However, we will increasingly place special emphasis on education and emerging sectors, including system-level design and design for manufacturability (DFM). For many years, DATC has been cosponsoring events such as the International Workshop on Logic and Synthesis (IWLS) and the International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD). DATC has also established links with other leading EDA organizations such as VHDL International, the IEEE Design Automation Standards Committee (DASC), the European SIGVHDL, Verilog International, and the IEEE Council on Design Automation (CEDA).

DATC's new executive committee was formed in late 2006, and consists of the following members (as of early 2007):

DATC has refined the activities that it will pursue in 2007. First, in addition to this newsletter, we will publish a quarterly, more robust newsletter (which will also be online). Second, we will publish a "State of the EDA" yearly article on critical EDA status and trends. Third, we will participate in at least one major EDA conference, such as ICCAD, and hold our annual board meeting there. Finally, we will contribute to council and standard activities in the broader IEEE EDA community, including the exploration of design automation education and certification in technologically emerging geographies such as China.

Excellence Awards

The DATC has formally given Excellence Awards to Joe Damore and Steve Grout "in recognition of outstanding contributions to infrastructure and team critical to DATC." These are well-deserved awards for our veteran colleagues, who have consistently strived to build a vibrant technical committee again for DATC. For example, thanks in large part to their efforts, the DATC Electronic Design Processes Subcommittee organizes a lively workshop (EDPW), and committee Web sites form the online backbone for our community activities. Thank you, Joe and Steve.

Contribution Opportunities

The DATC welcomes proposals for contributions to this newsletter and to the planned quarterly newsletter. Contributions should shed light on nonobvious, key EDA trends. Educational contributions in emerging areas such as electronic-system-level (ESL) design and DFM are especially welcome. The ideal length of a contribution is a half page in the form of a short, fact-based essay, with data or references backing the stated position. But longer contributions may be considered. Publication of important graphics and data tables might be possible by request. Please send proposals in the form of a two-paragraph abstract to the editors at jantonio@ieee.org.